How Much do you REALLY Know About Your Job Candidates?
Recently, Club and Resort Business published an article in which a club in Pennsylvania hired, and then fired a bookkeeper for embezzlement; only to find out that she had six months remaining of a seven-year probation for embezzling from a previous employer. You may be asking “how did the employer not know that their newest employee had a history of felonies?” Short answer: they probably didn’t ask, nor did they conduct a thorough background investigation. When industry unemp
Creating Leaders out of Your Young Managers
We are thrilled to launch a three-part webinar series featuring RCS Intern, Ben Granish discussing the future of leadership in the club industry. For a sneak peek of next week's first topic: "Creating Leaders out of Your Young Managers," read on, and click below to register for the webinar. REGISTER HERE While I am new to RCS and a fresh pair of eyes in the industry; my frame of reference is based on my time observing many fantastic managers in private clubs, conducting inter
Are You Working on Your Brand?
Graduations season brings many speeches. Most will focus on the fact that graduates have their whole life ahead of them and can accomplish whatever they set their minds to, with hard work and dedication. I had the pleasure of attending my nephew’s high school graduation and while many speeches touched on the expected subject matter, the speech that I found most inspiring was the one delivered by my nephew’s school superintendent, who took a slightly different tact in his spe
If The Boss Says 1+1=3, Who's to Argue?
Running a private club in this competitive environment seems to be increasingly difficult. Quality employees are more difficult to locate, hire and retain. Member preferences seem to change at a moment’s notice. Costs are ever-increasing. Surely, we can count on the fundamentals of math to keep us grounded and find solutions to our greatest pain points – something as simple as 1 + 1 = 2. But - what if what separates great clubs involves suspending your belief in math? What if
If You Aren't Innovating, You Are Behind: A Summary of the Golf Inc. Innovation Day
"We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking that we used when we created them.” -Albert Einstein RCS attended the Golf Inc. Innovation Day earlier this week, where the best and brightest attended bringing with them new ideas and predictions for the future of the golf and club industry. Whitney moderated a panel discussion about innovative ideas and strategies for private clubs and had thought leaders Perry Kenney from Sawgrass Country Club; James Hudock from Gibson I
Recruiter Versus Human Resources: Why Your Club Should Use Both
“We don't need a recruiter, we have a Director of Human Resources….” In our travels, we frequently hear that refrain. While the two positions are complementary, they are not the same. Most private clubs have one person who is “responsible” for human resources; meaning that they are the person who handles employee benefits, as well as paperwork for new employees, but they handle other administrative duties as well. Larger clubs may even have the resources to employ one full-ti
Breaking down Departmental Silos within your Club
As the new year is upon us and many look to make resolutions for the coming year, I recommend instituting, or improving a Department Head Retreat. RCS Hospitality Group recently hosted a webinar on the importance and value associated with creating a strong governance culture with the correct use of board and committee orientations. In that webinar, I touched briefly on a similar orientation for senior leaders/department heads--Let's dig a little deeper into this exercise, If
Employee Training & Retention Trend Report: Part 2
Editor's Note: This is part two of a two-part series authored by RCS owner & president Whitney Reid Pennell for 2018, intended to help club managers and hospitality professionals understand the current obstacles in employee retention and training. Part One can be read here. Part One of this series on trends in employee retention and training discussed what obstacles are currently being faced by hospitality professionals and why they have occurred. Let's continue. What is bein
Employee Training & Retention Trend Report: Part 1
If you're in the hospitality business, you probably already know that the food and beverage industry has the highest turnover rate of an
3 Tips to Relieve Holiday Stress
For many in hospitality, the holiday season is the most wonderful—and challenging—time of the year. While many of your guests are enjoying time off with friends and family, you and your team are working overtime to make that time off as enjoyable and fulfilling as you can. That’s the heart of great service after all, isn’t it? To help others create wonderful memories. But the holiday season can be stressful for a number of reasons: Increased member and customer expectations,
